Expansion joint cover

ABSTRACT

The specification discloses an expansion joint cover for covering the expansion joint of a building. A pair of elongated and corrugated metal strips are spaced from one another along their elongated edges and joined to one another by means of elongated panel of flexible elastic material. The corrugations of said elongated strips allow for expansion along the longitudinal axis of said strip, and the elastomeric median strip allows for expansion in a direction perpendicular to said expansion joint cover.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Francis J. Patry Old Lisbon Road P.O.Box 15769, Lewiston, Maine 04240 [21] Appl. No. 817,312 [22] Filed Apr.18,1969 [45] Patented ,lune1,1971

[54] EXPANSION JOINT COVER 1 1 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs. [52] [1.5. CI52/58, 52/403, 52/472, 52/573 [51] lnt.Cl E04d 3/38, E04b H68 [50] Fieldof Search 52/472, 402, 396, 393--395,573,58;94/18, 18.2

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS RE25,733 2/1965 Patry et al52/396 1,992,756 2/1935 Masterson 52/396 2,114,906 4/1938 Nyhagen 52/3963,093,934 6/1963 Unde'rhill 52/573X 3,234,699 2/1966 Smith 52/396X3,300,913 1/1967 Patry et a] 52/573X 3,375,621 4/1968 Curtis et al.52/395X 3,470,598 lO/1969 Berthelsen 52/309X FOREIGN PATENTS 567,36410/1957 ltaly 52/573 Primary Examiner-FRank L. Abbott AssistantExaminer-Sam D. Burke, 111

Attorneys-William D. Hall, Elliott l, Pollock, Fred C. Philpitt, GeorgeVande Sande, Charles F. Steininger and Robert R. Priddy ABSTRACT: Thespecification discloses an expansion joint cover for covering theexpansion joint of a building. A pair of elongated and corrugated metalstrips are spaced from one another along their elongated edges andjoined to one another by means of elongated panel of flexible elasticmaterial. The corrugations of said elongated strips allow for expansionalong the longitudinal axis of said strip, and the elastomeric medianstrip allows for expansion in a direction perpendicular to saidexpansion joint cover.

PATENIED JUN 1 I971 3581.450

i 27 24 26 I 1'" i (47 1,! A .2 g a/y INVENTOR FrancisJPn I ry EXPANSION.IOINT covnn BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention concernsimprovements in the techniques and means for joining the panels in roofstructures, flashings, water stops, expansion joints, deck joints,splices and the like. In this respect, the present invention isparticularly concerned with a structural unit which may be used in theaforementioned arrangements or which may be employed in conjunction withother such units through appropriate splicing techniques in thefabrication of relatively large structural expanses capable of use inroofs, walls and other constructions; and adapted in such arrangementsto assume various shapes and surface contours not readily possible withbuilding materials conventionally employed.

The prior art devices, an example of which is disclosed in US. Pat. Re.No. 25,733 to Harvey L. Patry et al., disclose an expansion joint coverfor use in these situations. However, it has been found desirable toprovide for expansion along the longitudinal axis of the expansion jointto prevent the expansion joint from working loose and breaking the sealbetween it and the adjoining flashing or roofing surface.

If the structural beams in a roof are formed of iron or steel, they willexpand at the rate of five sixty-fourths of an inch for every feet oflength, for every 100 change in temperature. Thus, if each panel in aroof section were 50 ft. across, the change from midwinter to midsummerin the length of the expansion joint would amount to approximatelyone-half inch. This in many cases has resulted in the popping" of theexpansion joint cover along its longitudinal edge where it is affixed toadjacent panels of the roof deck. In very large buildings where thespaces between adjoining panels or expansion joints may be as much as100 feet, it is desirable to provide some means of accommodating theexpansion along the longitudinal direction of the expansion joint toprevent the popping" of the expansion joint cover and the break in thewaterproof seal that results therefrom.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention toprovide an expansion joint cover that is capable of expansion along itslongitudinal dimension, as well as its traverse dimension.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an expansion jointcover with a new and improved method of sealing an expansion joint to aroof deck.

It is also an object of this invention to provide for an insulatedexpansion joint cover that is capable of longitudinal expansion.

It is another object of this invention to disclose a new and novel wayof bonding a corrugated panel and an elastomeric panel.

It is another object of this invention to provide an expansion jointwherein dissimilar types of metal panels may be joined into a singlepanel capable of expanding and contracting at different rates withtemperature changes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedstructural building unit capable of connecting two similar metals ordissimilar metals to form an elastic and waterproof expansion joint formetal flashings, concrete or steel structures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the expansionjoint cover installed between adjacent panels of the roof deck.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the new and improved expansion jointcover.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view with the upper layer pulled away to disclosethe details of construction utilized in our new and improved expansionjoint cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. I discloses our invention ina sectional view of the improved expansion joint cover as installedbetween adjacent panels ofa roof deck. Block members 11 and 12 areprovided along the edges of the expansion joint to provide nailingstrips for the expansion joint cover. The joint per se is actually thespace 13 between panels 14 and 15 with the new and improved inventionbeing more properly described as an expan' sion joint cover, coveringthe joint. The structural members of the roof deck have been left out ofFIG. I in order to clarify inventive concepts disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of our new and improved expansion jointcover with the upper flap [6 pulled away for purposes of clarity. In thepreferred embodiment of our invention two elongated and corrugatedstrips 17 and 18 are spaced apart from each other along their elongatededges. The strips are enclosed in a covering means illustrated as 19 and20 respectively that completely envelop the elongated and corrugatedstrips.

In the preferred embodiment of our invention, the covering means 19 and20 comprise elongated strips of fabric which have been impregnated orsaturate-coated with an elastomer. In one application of the invention,nylon was used for the fabric and neoprene for the elastomer, however itis understood that the invention is not limited to these materials. Thestrips are then folded upon themselves along their longitudinaldimension and the corrugated strips 17 inserted between the folds 19aand 19b. The covering means is of sufflcient width that when folded uponitself it extends beyond the edge of the corrugated strip and isadhesively sealed to form a seam edge 21 which runs the entire length ofthe covering means and is adjacent to the corrugated and elongated strip17. Although a neoprene saturate nylon is used in one embodiment of ourinvention, it should be readily understood that any type of coveringmeans or envelope could be used to surround the corrugated and elongatedstrip. For example, strip 17 could be placed within an extrusion die,and the covering I9 extruded around strip 17 as the strip is passed fromwithin the die. In this alternate of the invention it would also benecessary to provide a sealing seam 21 as shown in FIG. 3.

In one embodiment of our invention, the corrugated strip 17 isapproximately 2 inches in width and is of indefinite length with theneoprene-impregnated nylon being of 6 inches in width so that whenfolded upon itselfit yields a l-inch searn illustrated at 21. Due to thecorrugations present in strips 17 and 18 and the flexible nature of therelatively wide cover strip 16, the expansion joint cover when completedmay be rolled upon itself for delivery and installation in a roll ofindeterminate length.

In one embodiment of our invention, as will be noted in FIG. 2, therelatively wide elongated strip 16 is a laminate material. Although thelamination is not necessary to the practice of our invention, it hasbeen found desirable because of the long life and servicecharacteristics provided by the laminate. In one of these embodiments, alaminate is formed of a very thin layer 21 of polyvinyl fluorideplastic, such as that sold Du Pont under the trade name TEDLAR." Thissurface part of the laminate is generally 2 mils thick and is bonded toan elastomer or synthetic rubber base 22 which is approximately 38 milsin thickness to provide the approximately 40- mil laminate coverillustrated at 16. Although a thin layer of plastic and a relativelywide layer of elastomer were utilized in this embodiment, it should beunderstood that any equivalent material could be utilized with anyappropriate thickness. With this construction it is possible to providecolored materials in the surface layer to match the various colors ofroof decks without marring the aesthetic beauty of a white roof deckwith a black or off color expansion joint cover.

Immediately below the cover laminate 16, FIG. 2 discloses a relativelythick insulating strip 23 that runs the entire length of the expansionjoint and is axially aligned with the relatively wide cover strip 16.The insulating strip 23 is adapted to pro vide additional thermal andacoustic insulation and thereby make the expansion joint moresoundproof. If such insulating characteristics are not desired, thestrip of insulating material may be replaced with a single strip of saidlaminate material, so that the edges 19a and 19b of the envelope 19 aresecurely fastened between two layers of laminate material. Alternativelythe lower strip could be a single layer of nonlaminate elastomer.

Alternatively, a single strip of laminate material may be utilizedbetween the corrugated strips and their envelopes, or a relatively widestrip may be utilized wherein said strips are attached thereto and asillustrated in FIG. 2 with the insulating strip removed.

The relatively wide strip 16 provides the necessary strength and isadapted to withstand the stresses and strains to which the expansionjoint would normally be subjected. This strip is capable of anelongation of at least 100 percent and has a tensile strength of 1,000pounds per square inch. In this latter respect it should be noted thatthe synthetic elastomer is a synthetic rubber which has thecharacteristic qualities of natural rubber such as resilience, abrasionresistance, low com pression set and low permeability; and retains theseproperties to a high degree under long exposure to sunlight, weather,ozone, oxygen, oils, greases, heat and chemicals.

The relative thickness of the fabric has been exaggerated in FIG. 2 tomore clearly disclose the construction of our invention. In actualpractice the insulating strip 23 is bonded across its entire width tostrip 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seam edge of envelopes l9 and are sealed betweeninsulating strip 23 and cover strip 16 along their longitudinal edges sothat the corrugated strips 17 and 18 are spaced apart from one anotherand extend beyond the sealed jointbetween strip 23 and strip 16.

This seal may be accomplished by means of epoxy or other adhesive or byvulcanizing, or both, in any conventional manner to provide a tightwaterproof and durable seal.

When the expansion joint is installed as shown in FIG. 1, the upperlayer 16 is lifted up out of the way exposing the extended portions ofenvelope I9 and the corrugated strip 17. When wooden blocks 11 and 12are utilized, the strip may be installed by means of conventionalroofing nails 24 which are driven through the envelope and corrugatedstrip every 2 to 4 inches along the length of the strip. Thus anchored,the strip is free to expand vertically within the corrugations and alongthe longitudinal axis of the expansion joint. If the base member of theexpansion joint expands at a greater rate than the corrugated strip, thecorrugated flutes will provide the necessary elongation between thenails or other anchoring means. Thus it is noted that the expansion isnot transmitted longitudinally of the entire strip, but is taken up inshort sections between fastening points. Since this expansion is takenup in short sections, the fabric cover 19 always presents a flat surfacewhere it is bonded to the substrate membrane 28.

Although in the preferred embodiment of our invention, nailing blocks 11and 12 are provided in the roof deck, the present invention is equallysuitable to any other type of construction technique, such as sockets,clips, retaining flanges and the like.

As illustrated in FIG. I, after the corrugated strip is nailed securelythrough the roofing membrane to nailing block 12, the first layer 25 ofroofing or stripping felt is applied over the top of the corrugatedstrip. This joint 26 is then sealed with a cold adhesive, hot asphalt,pitch, or other appropriate adhesive to insure a continuously sealedjoint. Cover 16 is then brought over the first roofing ply 25 to form asecond joint 27 which may also be sealed by means'of cold adhesive orhot asphalt or pitch. If a colored membrane is applied over the roofpanel as is done in decorative roof decks, the latter membrane 27 may beapplied over the top of covering strip 16 and secured by adhesive,asphalt or other securing means.

It should be pointed out that membrane 19 is stretched tightly over thecorrugated flutes of strip 17 and provides a flat surface between cover19 and a roofing base 28. This flat surface provides a waterproof sealbetween the expansion joint cover and the roof base that would not beprovided if the corrugated flutes were installed without the envelope.Conversely, if the covering or envelope is extruded or sprayed over thestrip, it would be advantageous to provide for at least one flat surfaceto be formed on said covering to assist in providing the waterproofseal. The corrugated strip 17 may be formed of heavy or lightweightplastic, galvanized iron, copper, aluminum, or other material. Due tothe protection provided by envelope 19 it has been desirable to employgalvanized iron which is much more inexpensive than copper and aluminumand provides for the same life of the material.

While there have been described above what are presently believed to bethe preferred form of the invention, variations thereof will be obviousto those skilled in the art and all such changes and variations fallwithin the spirit of the invention and are intended to be covered by thegeneric terms in the appended claims, which are variably worded to thatend.

We claim:

17 An expansion joint comprising a. a pair of elongate spaced apartblock members b. an expansion joint cover member overlying said spacedapart block members, said cover member having a pair of elongate strips,each strip having a first elongate edge, said elongate edges beingspaced apart from one another and overlying said elongated blockmembers, flexible means overlying andjoining said first elongate edges,said expansion joint cover member being characterized in that saidelongate strips have corrugations transverse to the direction of saidelongate edges,

c. fastening means for attaching said strip to said underlying elongatedblock members, said elongate strips having sufficient resiliency toallow for expansion transverse to the corrugations.

2. An expansion joint cover comprising:

a. a pair of elongate and corrugated strips spaced from one anotheralong their elongate edges with the axis of said corrugations lyingtransversely to the axis of said elongation,

b. an elongate strip of flexible material overlying and joining saidcorrugated strips in a spaced apart relationship,

c. a first and second covering means for enclosing each of saidcorrugated strips in an elongate envelope, with said first coveringmeans attached along one longitudinal edge to said strip of flexiblematerial, and said second covering means attached along one longitudinaledge to the other elongate edge of said strip of flexible material, sothat said corrugated strips are mounted within said covering means andattached to said strip of flexible material with their longitudinal axesparallel to one another in a spaced apart relationship.

3. An expansion joint as claimed in claim 2 wherein said covering meanscomprises a strip of waterproof material which is folded upon itselfalong its longitudinal axis, said material being of sufficient with tocompletely cover said corrugated strip, when said corrugated strip isinserted between the folds of said material.

4. An expansion joint as claimed in claim 2 wherein said covering meanscomprises an extruded plastic coating, said coating completely coveringthe corrugated strip and completely filling the voids of saidcorrugation on at least one side of said strip to provide a relativelyflat surface thereon.

5. An expansion joint cover comprising a pair of elongate strips, eachstrip having a first elongate edge, said first elongate edges beingspaced apart from one another, flexible means joining said firstelongate edges, said expansion joint cover being characterized in thatsaid elongate strips have corrugations transverse to the direction ofsaid elongate edges, and having sufficient resiliency to allow forexpansion transverse to the corrugations, said cover also having asecond relatively wide overlying elongate strip of material axiallyaligned with said first elongate strip of material and attached to saidfirst strip along its center portion, said relatively wide strip beingof sufficient width to overhang beyond the corrugated strips attached toeach side of the first elongate strip.

6. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 5 wherein said firststrip is a relatively thick insulating material.

7. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 5 wherein saidrelatively wide elongate strip is a laminate formed of a plastic whichis bonded to an elastomeric base.

8. An expansion joint cover comprising a. a relatively thick closed cellelongated strip of insulating material,

b. first and second elongated and corrugated strips, said strips havingthe axes of their corrugations transverse to their longitudinal axis,

. a first and second waterproof envelope for completely covering saidcorrugated strips, each of said envelopes having a seam edge definedalong one side of said envelope and adjacent to the corrugated strip,

d. a relatively wide elongated strip axially aligned with saidinsulating strip and overlying said insulating strip and said corrugatedstrips, said seam edge of said first envelope being mounted between saidrelatively wide strip and said insulating strip and axially alignedtherewith, said seam edge of said second envelope being spaced apart andmounted between said relatively wide strip and said insulated strip andaxially aligned therewith,

. said insulating strip being bonded across its entire length to saidrelatively wide strip, with said seam edges of first and secondenvelopes bonded therebetween on each edge of said insulated strip withthe corrugated strips extending outwardly beyond the bond.

9. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein said elongatedand corrugated strip is formed of plastic.

10. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein saidrelatively wide elongated strip is a laminate formed of a layer ofplastic which is bonded to an elastomeric base.

11. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein said envelopecomprises a strip of waterproof material which is folded upon itselfalong its longitudinal axis, said material being of sufficient width tocompletely cover said corrugated strips and extend beyond to create saidseam edge when said corrugated strip is inserted between the folds ofsaid material.

1. An expansion joint comprising a. a pair of elongate spaced apartblock members b. an expansion joint cover member overlying said spacedapart block members, said cover member having a pair of elongate strips,each strip having a first elongate edge, said elongate edges beingspaced apart from one another and overlying said elongated blockmembers, flexible means overlying and joining said first elongate edges,said expansion joint cover member being characterized in that saidelongate strips have corrugations transverse to the direction of saidelongate edges, c. fastening means for attaching said strip to saidunderlying elongated block members, said elongate strips havingsufficient resiliency to allow for expansion transverse to thecorrugations.
 2. An expansion joint cover comprising: a. a pair ofelongate and corrugated strips spaced from one another along theirelongate edges with the axis of said corrugations lying transversely tothe axis of said elongation, b. an elongate strip of flexible materialoverlying and joining said corrugated strips in a spaced apartrelationship, c. a first and second covering means for enclosing each ofsaid corrugated strips in an elongate envelope, with said first coveringmeans attached along one longitudinal edge to said strip of flexiblematerial, and said second covering means attached along one longitudinaledge to the other elongate edge of said strip of flexible material, sothat said corrugated strips are mounted within said covering means andattached to said strip of flexible material with their longitudinal axesparallel to one another in a spaced apart relationship.
 3. An expansionjoint as claimed in claim 2 wherein said covering means comprises astrip of waterproof material which is folded upon itself along itslongitudinal axis, said material being of sufficient with to completelycover said corrugated strip, when said corrugated strip is insertedbetween the folds of said material.
 4. An expansion joint as claimed inclaim 2 wherein said covering means comprises an extruded plasticcoating, said coating completely covering the corrugated strip andcompletely filling the voids of said corrugation on at least one side ofsaid strip to provide a relatively flat surface thereon.
 5. An expansionjoint cover comprising a pair of elongate strips, each strip having afirst elongate edge, said first elongate edges being spaced apart fromone another, flexible means joining said first elongate edges, saidexpansion joint cover being characterized in that said elongate stripshave corrugations transverse to the direction of said elongate edges,and having sufficient resiliency to allow for expansion transverse tothe corrugations, said cover also having a second relatively wideoverlying elongate strip of material axially aligned with said firstelongate strip of material and attached to said first strip along itscenter portion, said relatively wide strip being of sufficient width tooverhang beyond the corrugated strips attached to each side of the firstelongate strip.
 6. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 5wherein said first strip is a relatively thick insulating material. 7.An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 5 wherein said relativelywide elongate strip is a laminate formed of a plastic which is bonded toan elastomeric base.
 8. An expansion joint cover comprising a. arelatively thick closed cell elongated strip of insulating material, b.first and second elongated and corrugated strips, said strips having theaxes of their corrugations transverse to their longitudinal axis, c. afirst and second waterproof envelope for completely covering saidcorrugated strips, each of said envelopes having a seam edge definedalong one side of said envelope and adjacent to the corrugated strip, d.a relatively wide elongated strip axially aligned with said insulatingstrip and overlying said insulating strip and said corrugated strips,said seam edge of said first envelope being mounted between saidrelatively wide strip and said insulating strip and axially alignedtherewith, said seam edge of said second envelope being spaced apart andmounted between said relatively wide strip and said insulated strip andaxially aligned therewith, e. said insulating strip being bonded acrossits entire length to said relatively wide strip, with said seam edges offirst and second envelopes bonded therebetween on each edge of saidinsulated strip with the corrugated strips extending outwardly beyondthe bond.
 9. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein saidelongated and corrugated strip is formed of plastic.
 10. An expansionjoint cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein said relatively wide elongatedstrip is a laminate formed of a layer of plastic which is bonded to anelastomeric base.
 11. An expansion joint cover as claimed in claim 8wherein said envelope comprises a strip of waterproof material which isfolded upon itself along its longitudinal axis, said material being ofsufficient width to completely cover said corrugated strips and extendbeyond to create said seam edge when said corrugated strip is insertedbetween the folds of said material.